MMC 4302

State of Union – President Obama’s goals

Tuesday was the State of Union, where President Obama announced his agenda for the upcoming year. My takeaway is that he wants to work around Congress to accomplish his goals. The President plans to use his Presidential powers to achieve his goals by using executive orders, Presidential memorandums and like-minded leaders. According to CBS-News, there are seven items he plans to solve with executive orders:

– Minimum wage

– Retirement savings

– Family policies

– Job training

– Unemployment

– Environment

– Universal pre-K

President Obama wasted no time getting his plan into action. On Thursday he was in Waukesha at a General Electric factory where he was talking to the workers about his changes. During his talk, he called on Congress to be more reliable in funding programs, while vowing he wouldn’t let congressional inaction stand in the way.

In my opinion, President Obama demonstrates to the people that there are big problems in the United States, so quick action is needed. I agree that there are big problems because in Austria, where I am from, people usually don’t have more than one job whereas in the States people do.

The Guardian also provides people with the entire State of Union speech online. So people who missed the speech can go back and read it.

According to a study Germans and French are working less than people in the United States. Asian countries like Singapore and Hong Kong are working significantly more. I liked President Obama’s action but it will be a long time before we see change.